TATE OF NEW YORK 



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ILLIAM PIERSON FIERO, 
late Senator from the 27 th dis- 
trict, died at his New York City 
residence, 1 1 5 West 1 29th street, October 
29, 1 91 2. He had not been well for nearly 
a year, although the first alarming symptoms 
appeared in the summer of 1912. He was 
unable to leave the house after the first of June 
of that year. He had given up all business 
and official cares to spend his last days in his 
quiet home, ministered to by his family. 

Senator Fiero was bom in Catskill, N. Y., 
May 8, 1847, the eldest child of Joshua and 
Mary Pierson Fiero. He was a descendant 
of the old Palatine Dutch, his ancestry dat- 
ing back to the early days of colonial history. 
In fact, the name Fiero occurs in the family tree 
of Americus Vespucius. His father was one 
of the most prominent men of his party, having 
been Senator in 1860-61 from the same dis- 



3ltt M^ttmnmn 

trict (Ulster-Greene) as his son. In 1861 he 
served as president pro tern, of the Senate. 

William Pierson Fiero obtained his early 
education in the academies at Ashland, Stam- 
ford and Claverack. He was admitted to the 
bar in the early seventies, and continued in 
active and successful practice until a year pre- 
vious to his death. He achieved much promi- 
nence in his profession in New^ York City cUid 
in Westchester county. He was at one time 
a member of the law firm of Boutwell, Fiero & 
Cornell, his partners being George S. Boutwell, 
exGovernor of Massachusetts, and Henry W. 
Comell and Charles Ezra Comell, sons of Gov- 
ernor Comell of New York. From 1 880 to 
1 890 he was a member of the firm of Fiero, 
Chittenden & Fiero, and at the time of his 
death he was associated with Joshua M. Fiero 
and Joshua M. Fiero, Jr., in the practice of his 
profession at 92 William street, New York 
City. Senator Fiero had an enviable reputa- 
tion as a practising attorney during all his long 
professional life. 

From 1878 to 1883 he was first assistant 
to the United States district attorney for the 

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southern district of New York, where he made 
a brilliant record. He is said to have been 
one of the ablest and most successful prosecut- 
ing officers that ever represented the govern- 
ment in that district, and was the attomey in 
many important jury trials and in appeals to 
the United States Supreme Court in many 
notable cases. After the reelection of Presi- 
dent Cleveland in 1 892 he declined an offer 
of a United States judgeship. 

In 1910 he accepted the unsought nomi- 
nation of the Democratic party for Senator from 
Greene and Ulster counties. Although the 
district is normally Republican by a large num- 
ber, he was elected by 775 majority. Recog- 
nizing his legal ability and wide knowledge of 
public affairs, Lieutenant Governor Conway 
appointed Senator Fiero chairman of the com- 
mittee on penal institutions, and a member of 
the judiciary, commerce and navigation, and 
forest, fish and game committees. He was 
known as an advocate of strict economy in 
State expenditures, and was active in obtaining 
legislation for the betterment of the masses. 
On many occasions he was called to the 

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3I« ilpmanam 

chair and presided with much dignity and 
ability. 

Although he had lived for many years 
away from his native county of Greene, yet he 
was deeply interested in all that pertained to 
that section. In 1 909 he presented to the 
county a beautiful bronze fountain, which was 
erected in the village of Catskill. He was an 
active member of the Greene County Society 
of New York, serving as its president in 
1 908-9. At the annual dinners of the society 
he presided with the grace and dignity which 
characterized this old-school gentleman. Ap- 
propriate resolutions were adopted by the 
society upon his death. 

Senator Fiero is survived by his wife, two 
sons, three daughters, two brothers and two sis- 
ters. He was a cousin of J. Newton Fiero, 
state reporter of the Court of Appeals and dean 
of the Albany Law College. Funeral services 
were held at the home of his son-in-law at 
White Plains, N. Y. 

Senator Fiero was one of Nature's noble- 
men. He was clean, honorable and upright. 
The petty cOid mean found no place in his life. 

10 



UtUiam T^misati Mna 

He was an orator of great power and elo- 
quence. From 1 880 to 1 890 he was active 
in presidential campaigns, and was regarded as 
one of his party's best speakers. He was a 
man of impressive appearance aind charming 
personality. By his death the State has lost 
one of its best public servants, whose memory 
will long live in the hearts of those who were 
fortunate enough to know him. 



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lENATOR Thomas C. Harden 
During my legislative career I 
possessed unusual opportunities to 
become familiar with Senator Fiero, and it is 
with exceeding pleasure that I give expression to 
the indelible impression which close friendship 
with him left upon me. When I was chair- 
man of the Senate Committee on Railroads, 
he, as chairman of the Committee on Penal 
Institutions, shared my committee room, and I 
constantly had the privilege of observing him 
at close range. He was always the dignified 
though humble Senator, a thorough scholar, a 
brilliant legislator, a true gentleman. 

None whom I have met in later life have 
1 found to be more lovable than dear Senator 
Fiero. The very children of the Capitol, the 
pages and younger officers of the Senate, would 
flock around him as the tribal children of old 
would gather around their patriarch. He pos- 

15 



sessed that extremely rare virtue of making 
happy all who came m contact with him, and 
playing with discretion in a minor chord of 
humor, he would extricate his fellow Senators 
from embarrassing entanglements and mitigate 
the harshness of a violent retort from wrathful 
colleagues. 

As a lawyer, he was well fitted for the 
brain-exhausting labors of an earnest legislator, 
and in debate his ovm good nature transformed 
his opponents to admirers and gained for him 
at times even their support. I see before me, 
as I look back reminiscently, that benign and 
courteous figure, seated as chairman of the 
Committee of the Whole, while all before him 
heaves and tosses in chaotic motion. The par- 
titioning of Westchester county lies foremost 
before the Senate, and in spite of a close call a 
number of waurlike senators have left their seats 
and are vainly endeavoring to force their way 
past the barred doors of the Senate Chamber. 
A rap of the gavel focuses attention on Senator 
Fiero who calls for order, but the belligerents 
wish to break the quorum that exists in an 
effort to save their cause from defeat, and their 

16 



leader cries out in protest: "I would like to 
know, Mr. Chairman, by what rule you intend 
to keep us prisoners in this chamber.*' '* Ah !" 
said Senator Fiero, with the same good will as 
the mother urges her son to stay in at night, 
" We intend to keep the Senators in this cham- 
ber by the rule of physical force.** The 
answer was so unexpectedly truthful and yet so 
pleasantly uttered that the anger of the excited 
Senators quickly subsided; they laughed, and 
then generously applauded the pacific chair- 
man who brought harmony out of misunder- 
standing. 

So was he always, possessing a tender and 
sympathetic feeling for all, yet firm and inex- 
orable when duty posited that necessity. Truly 
the people of the Catskills have lost a zealous 
representative, the Senate has lost a most effi- 
cient member, and I myself have lost a loyal 
friend. As he looks down upon us from the 
home above, which he so richly merited, may 
his life be an inspiration to our younger legisla- 
tors to pattem their careers in that most lovable 
mold which gave us Senator William Pierson 
Fiero. 

17 



Senator LORING M. BlaCK Jr. 

Above my desk hangs a picture of the 
Senate of 1 9 1 1 , a group of whom I grew very 
fond and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. 
My liking was inspired by their personalities 
and my gratitude is to balance their special 
efforts to assist me as a young and inexperienced 
legislator and their knowledge of humanity, 
imparted by these experts on human nature, 
themselves real human beings, to me. Three 
of these men have passed to their eternal 
rewards. They were leaders in what some 
choose to call the " cruel game of politics," but 
which they knew only as a system of serving 
their fellow beings. 

In the upper left-hand comer of the pic- 
ture 1 am contemplating, is that fine old Roman, 
Senator Fiero of Ulster. What a grand char- 
acter he was ! I do not think we ever differed 
on a proposition, which is not said to verify the 
preceding sentence. He was a man hard to 
differ with, but, I fear me, if one did differ, one 
would clash with a foeman worthy of any steel. 
The expression on his portrait indicates his 
salient characteristics — willingness to work for 

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others. He seems about to say, " What can I 
do for you?" Always considerate, always 
courteous, he was withal, regal, superb. Sena- 
tor Fiero insisted on consulting me frequently. 
It made me feel quite important. 1 know now 
why he did it — just for the purpose of mak- 
ing me feel important. His thoughtfulness 
prompted these little conferences of ours, 
thoughtfulness of me, not of himself. I well 
recall his asking my suggestions on an impor- 
tant speech he was scheduled to deliver. He 
had written it longhand and read it to me. I 
made numerous criticisms and advised changes. 
The kindly old man listened to me docilely, 
talked over my proposed alterations, and seemed 
to appraise them at a high value. On the 
evening he made the oration, 1 sat well up 
in front, expecting to hear some of my own 
ideas and periods attain distinction through 
his eloquence, but I was disappointed. Sen- 
ator Fiero had not changed his speech one 
iota, and I was glad that he only listened 
to me, for had he accepted my thoughts, 
I do not believe that even I would have 
listened to his effort with as much profit or 

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3)tt iilFmiiriam 

pleasure. His diction was masterly, his deliv- 
ery majestic. 

How he did love to preside over the Senate ! 
Lieutenant Governor Conway and Senator 
Wagner, majority leader, as often as consistent 
with their obligations to the electorate, would 
gratify this whim. He was a most impressive 
chairman, for he was blessed with a great vol- 
ume of pleasing voice and, as well, with a 
bearing and stature that insured honors and 
leadership. Many will remember his answer 
to a Senator who, anxious to break a quorum, 
was rushing toward the door of the Senate 
Chamber, when he heard the thunderous com- 
mand of Senator Fiero, who was presiding, 
" The sergeant at arms will close the doors.*' 
The checked Senator then inquired, "Mr. 
President, by what right do you order the 
Senators confined?** and quickly came the 
answer, " By the right of natural force.'* You 
would think a lion had roared — the way all 
subsided, as if to await a succeeding roar. 
The gavel banged, and the incident was closed, 
the Senate proceeding in its customary decor- 
ous fashion. The man was typical of natural 

20 



force, mentally and physically, alert and robust. 
It must have been from an audience of charac- 
ters like Senator Fiero that Cicero got the 
stimulus for his deep, logical deliberations that 
projected those overwhelming oratorical flights. 
Senator Fiero was a noble character, and his 
face radiated nobility. It would have been 
impossible to say or do an unworthy thing in 
his presence. 

The State of New York suffered in Sena- 
tor Fiero*s death, in that, had he been spared 
a few years, his well-developed ideas, especially 
on prison reform, in which, sad to say, our 
State seems backward, would have constituted 
elements in our governmental functions through 
his efforts. I can not stay my pen in writing of 
this man. Another characterizing recollection 
of him springs in my mind. I asked him how 
he became so interested in prison reform. He 
was reluctant to give me the information, but 
after persistent interrogations, I obtained this 
explanation, "Well, when I was federal dis- 
trict attomey, I had to send many poor fellows 
to jail, and after I sent them I used to visit 
them to try to cheer them up and lessen for 

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Mn MtmaxXma 

them the rigors of prison life. I saw that pris- 
ons were considered solely as places of punish- 
ment instead of institutions for the betterment 
of the fallen. Since I visited the first man I 
was forced to send away, 1 have been fighting 
for the amelioration of prison conditions. That 
is the reason I am now chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Penal Institutions." Here was your 
man. He knew his duty as district attorney, 
did it well, and then as a private individual, 
attempted to comfort the unfortunates whose 
detention the duties of his office demanded. 

Senator HoWARD R. Bayne 

When I entered the Senate Chamber at 
the begiiming of my second term in January 
1912, one of the first men that I saw was 
Senator William Pierson Fiero. His figure 
was an imposing one, dressed in black from 
head to foot, after the fashion of the public 
man half a century ago. He was a large 
man and carried himself with composure and 
dignity. His manner was one of thoughtful 
attention and perfect respect to the proceed- 
ings of the Senate. This characterized his 

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demeanor throughout his career in the Senate. 
He was rarely seen moving about the chamber 
and rarely volunteered to hold conversation 
with any one, not even the Senator sitting 
next to him. When addressed during the 
sessions of the Senate, he always responded 
politely and pleasantly; but one was conscious 
that he did not consider that the Senate 
Chamber was, during the sessions of the 
Senate, the place to hold social intercourse 
or carry on conversation, unless it was essen- 
tial to the business on the floor. In this respect 
his carriage and conduct were exceptionable, 
and those of us who were in the habit of 
debating measures upon the floor were always 
sure of having at least one patient and cour- 
teous listener in the Senator from the 27 th 
District. 

Senator Fiero did not often volunteer 
counsel or address either the caucus or Senate. 
His influence was more felt than seen. But 
when circumstances required him to speak, he 
responded in such a way as to convince every 
one that he had thought on the questions 
before us, and that while his opinion was clear 

23 



itt Msmaxima 

and decided, he was prepared to yield it in 
the interest of party harmony. 

His committee assignments were impor- 
tant. His work on them was conscientious 
and constant. He was chairman of the impor- 
tant committee on penal institutions. I had the 
pleasure of being with him on the committees 
on judiciary, on commerce and navigation, on 
forest, fish and game, and on affairs of vil- 
lages, and I had, therefore, excellent oppor- 
tunities to observe his devotion to his duties. 

He introduced a number of important 
measures of a general character relating to 
reformatories, prison law, game law, health 
law, insanity law, probation and parole, forest 
preserve and highways. Besides these, he 
introduced a number of local bills, relating to 
cities and villages in his ovm district. The 
measure which made him a political storm 
center for a while was that of the Westchester 
County Bronx sewer, which became a law. 
He introduced this bill, which related to a 
locality not in his district, because the Senator 
of that district was of the opposite party, which 
opposed the measure. It became a party 

24 



measure in the Senate. When it was finally 
reported by the judiciary committee, it was 
stubbornly resisted by the minority, and parlia- 
mentary devices of one sort and another were 
employed to defeat its passage. In the midst 
of this struggle. Senator Fiero showed rare 
balance, cool-headedness and aggressiveness. 
He was quite equal to the occasion and showed 
a skill and readiness which few of us realized 
he possessed. 

I saw him frequently and intimately in 
the meetings of the committee on judiciary, 
of which I had the honor to be chairman. 
Notwithstanding the volume of important sub- 
stantive measures that were referred to that 
committee, and the great number of bills which 
it had to consider and pass upon, we usually 
had great difficulty in securing a quorum for 
the transaction of business, as nearly every 
Democratic member of the committee was 
chairman of some other committee which 
required his attention more or less constantly. 
But Senator Fiero was ever most diligent in 
attending the sessions of this important com- 
mittee so far as his duties to his own committee 

25 



3n Mtmnnwan 

would permit. He was ever patient in the 
consideration of measures and in hearing argu- 
ment, but rarely took part himself. He cast 
his vote, as a rule, without giving his reasons. 

He often sat with me into the late hours 
of the night, going patiently over measures in 
which I needed his calm and dispassionate con- 
sideration and help. 

But I knew Senator Fiero most intimately 
in connection with the Senate committee to 
investigate the city and county of Albany, of 
which I was also chairman. After the first 
long recess of the Senate of 1911, this com- 
mittee sat during the summer; and, after the 
adjournment of the session that year, we sat 
also in October and November and a part of 
December. 

Servnice on this committee was personally 
distasteful to Senator Fiero as well as to myself. 
We both consented to serve only after being 
convinced that it was our duty to the State to 
do so. My recollection is that Senator Fiero 
was never absent from one of the sessions of 
this committee, except, 1 think, on one occasion 
when some personal matter of great importance 

26 



kept him away. He always sat at my right, 
and in many delicate questions of law and pro- 
cedure, 1 had the unfailing benefit of his loyal 
and clear-headed counsel. I was all the more 
grateful for this devoted and conscientious atten- 
tion to duty on his part from the fact that I was 
quite conscious that he rendered this service at 
great personal and bodily inconvenience to him- 
self. Not that he spoke of this often, or even 
at all in express terms, but from a stray remark 
that he made now and then, 1 had no doubt 
that such was the fact. 

His scrupulous sense of propriety as a 
public official may be gathered from the fact 
that he uniformly opposed allowances to the 
employees of the committee that might be 
considered extravagant or too liberal with the 
moneys of the State. He was willing to give 
compensation on a fair and reasonable basis, 
but he seemed to take more care in spending 
the money of the State than in spending his 
own. His singular unselfishness in this respect 
may be gathered from the fact that for a long 
time he refused absolutely to accept any reim- 
bursement for his expenses in attending the 

27 



sessions of the committee. The committee were, 
of course, allowed their expenses, such as rail- 
road fare, hotel bills and other necessary dis- 
bursements in attending to their duties. Every 
member of the committee, except Senator Fiero, 
rendered, at stated intervals, statements of such 
expenses. He refused to do so, thus exceeding 
even the delicacy of Washington who declined 
a salary but did charge his expenses in the 
public service. Without knowing, I felt in 
taking this course Senator Fiero was making a 
sacrifice which he could not afford. I therefore 
sought to make him change his determination, 
not by attempting to overcome his scruples but 
by arguing that his refusal to do this might 
become a reflection upon his fellow senators on 
the committee, who felt obliged to ask reim- 
bursement for their expenses because they could 
not aSoxd to do otherwise. This consideration 
for others overcame his reluctance and he finally 
sent in a memorandum of his expenses which 
were on a bcisis of the greatest economy £uid 
self-denial. 

Upon the close of testimony taken before 
this committee, Senator Fiero was, on account 

28 



of illness, able to attend but few of the execu- 
tive sessions of the committee. I, however, 
personally had correspondence with him and 
also saw him at his home, submitting to him a 
number of general matters and a draft of the 
report. In spite of the encroachment of disease, 
he was ever ready and willing to do his duty to 
the committee. 

In his personal relations he was an exceed- 
ingly amiable and companionable man, ever 
ready to enjoy good fellowship and social inter- 
course. He frequently lightened serious labors 
by well-timed humorous allusions. He had a 
fund of interesting reminiscences and told a 
good story most effectively and delightfully. 
His humor was never ill-timed, or coarse, or 
unkind, or sarcastic. Its tone was quaint and 
kindly, and intended to put every one in a 
comfortable and companionable frame of mind. 

I have often wished that the pressing 
duties in the Senate could have permitted me 
to see more of Senator Fiero in a social way, 
but even as it was, I shall always remember 
him as a delightful and charming personality 
whose association was pleascint and helpful. 

29 



Senator ROBERT F. WagNER 

Senator Fiero served only one term with 
me in the Senate, but during that short time 
he compelled the respect and the honor of the 
entire body. He was a man of striking appear- 
ance. White-haired, but erect, he was the 
embodiment of senatorial dignity. He was also 
a man of striking characteristics. In debate he 
was eamest and pursuasive, in performing his 
legislative function, honest and prudent, in all 
his dealings, fair and honorable. His long 
experience rendered his views upon legislative 
matters invaluable, and he was ever willing to 
lend his assistance to others, even though the 
matter in hand had no individual interest for 
him. He contributed to our deliberations a 
mature mind and a capable judgment. His 
activities in the Senate were marked by a 
scrupulous regard for the public interest. Fore- 
most in his mind seemed to be his oath 
of office and his duty to the State. All his 
work was performed zealously and with dis- 
patch. To these preeminent qualifications for 
legislative work he added a quaint and kindly 
humor that reflected the cheerful frame of mind 

30 



iiUliam l^uxBon iii^tfro 

with which he undertook his labors. Everything 
that connotes a gentleman was to be found 
in his personality. We shall retain him in 
memory for a long time and we shall cherish 
his memory with affection and esteem. 



31 



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